A widely used, highly popular method of conducting monetary transactions involves use of automatic teller machines, commonly referred to as ATMs. Credit card processing machines, which permit monetary transactions to occur through the use of small cards which carry information about the person to whom the card is issued on a magnetic strip, also remain widely used, as do conventional vending machines, public telephones and the like which accept hard currency. In addition, cards which hold a wide variety of information and which may be credited or debited at a given transaction site, the so-called integrated circuit or “smart” cards, are expected to become widely used in conjunction with card-receiving integrated circuit card readers and located in variety of settings, including, for example, vending machines, checkout counters, copy centers, gasoline station pumps, and just about every other place in which money may be exchanged.
As the number of cards increases, it becomes more difficult for sight-impaired persons and people with low-vision to distinguish between them. The current way to address this problem is to provide tactile displays, such as instructions in Braille, however, most people with low vision or that are print-disabled are not familiar with Braille.
A recent study (Chiang, et. al, Milbank Quarterly, 1992) estimates 1.1 million people are legally blind under the definition of tested acuity (<20/200). Many other disabilities prevent persons from reading print. In addition to people who are blind or have low vision and may not be able to see the print, there are many stroke, head-injured, autistic and dyslexic (or even just educationally impaired) persons who may not be able to assimilate printed language even though they can see the page. Many people can accept this information through speech.
Electronic message emitting devices and the like having various designs, structures, configurations and materials of construction have been disclosed in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,219,800 to Leavens discloses an electronic device having a power source, a sign with a message, and an audible reminder signal.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,359,374 to Schwartz discloses a talking picture frame having a still video image placed within a frame or plaque and also having an associated audio message stored on a recording and playback unit. The recording and playback unit is self-contained and affixed to the frame to allow for instant and repeated playback of the audio message when desired. Both the video image and the recorded message can be varied and changed according to the user's desire.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,463,369 to Lamping discloses an electronic device having a power source, a sound chip having a message, and a picture mounted on the front of the device.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,480,156 to Doederlein et al discloses a squeezable talking trading card capable of generating an audio message including a thin housing having front and back surfaces, flexible sheets having indicia affixed to the front and back surfaces of the housing, a sound chip located in the housing for generating a given message, a battery for supplying electrical power to the sound chip, and a switch located in the housing for activating a sound chip.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,678 to Young discloses a talking trading card having two printed trading cards attached to the top and bottom sides of a substrate in which is housed the mechanism for powering, storing, activating and emitting a recorded sound and/or message. The audio message may be pre-recorded in a sound chip or may be programmed into the sound chip after the manufacture of the talking card through a receptacle placed on the side of the talking card.
Techniques for incorporating sound messages into greeting cards are known in the prior art. An example of such a device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,063,698. Here, the user records a message into a telephone answering machine, which the vendor of the card then encodes into a small, battery operated playback device installed in the card. When the card is opened, a switch may be depressed to activate playback of the sound message. A similar recording and playback device for use in a postcard is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,791,741.
A need is emerging by which a visually impaired person distinguish between different plastic cards. Any device fulfilling this need must not interfere with any encoded information, e.g. a magnetic strip card or the card reader machine. Furthermore, this device must quickly, reliably and conveniently convert regular plastic cards into auditory (sound enabled) plastic cards. This invention will fulfill this need and satisfy these two requirements.
Thus, there is a need for a convenient and reliable method and apparatus for sound-enabling regular plastic cards.